Monday, November 4, 2013

How To Increase Activity From Brand Advocates With Digital Publishing

Who Is A Brand Advocate?Individuals that are fanatical about a brand and its product line. The advocate identifies him or herself closely with the brand, and is happy to share any and all activity of their beloved company. This includes word of mouth recommendations, social media shares, and other forms of unsolicited sponsorship. The sum of such activities can create a powerful marketing force that ignites brand awareness and sales conversions. The rapid rise of social media can be partially credited for why brand advocacy has become so powerful.How Has Social Media Influenced Brand Advocacy?Social media has allowed social people to be social to a greater degree. It allows people to create an online image that reflects their ideal self, on a stage that can reach hundreds to thousands of their closest acquaintances. When a customer becomes an advocate, they can turn to social media to spread their love. This is one of the reasons why it is essential to have social sharing capabilities embedded throughout your digital magazines and catalogs.How Do You Create A Brand Advocate?When an individual shares a product with their network, they're making a statement about themselves. They are sharing something that they are comfortable with being identified by. A runner who shares an online catalog for running shoes is communicating that she, among other things, is comfortable with being identified by the fact that she shops at that store. This makes the brand of that store, and what it stands for, vital to the creation of brand advocates.Creating a brand that connects with the self-image and ideal-self of your market will increase the likelihood of attracting brand advocates. This starts by gaining insight into who your customer is, what values guide their actions, and what motivates them to live their lives. If an organization can build a brand that is congruent with the core values of their target market, the likelihood of attracting loyal brand advocates is greatly increased.How Do You Amplify The Impact of Brand Advocates?Common wisdom tells us to create great content and the following will gather. While this is fundamentally accurate, there are a few key points an organization must take into account while trying to create great content.The key points include the use of a world-class digital publishing software that allows the company to convert a PDF into an online catalog or magazine with all necessary features. Necessary features include social media sharing capabilities, and multimedia capabilities that help communicate the brand's core values.By understanding the core values that motivate a brand advocate to do what they do, then building a brand around those values, an organization can realize the benefits of loyal brand advocates. Coupling these measures with digital magazine or page turn software that adds vital features to online content can amplify the effects of brand advocates.